Unbelievable head-to-head: Li takes Europe by storm as Modi soars straight to Washington – what’s really brewing?

Hello and welcome to the working week.

A key theme in the coming days will be global diplomacy.

Chinese premier Li Qian will arrive in Germany on his first trip abroad since his appointment. The tour will also include France. In the meantime, Narendra Modi visits Joe Biden in the White House. The Indian prime minister will become one of the few foreign leaders, along with Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to speak more than once in a joint session of Congress.

Key interest rate decisions are expected in Beijing, Ankara and London. The People’s Bank of China announced a surprise cut to its main policy rate last week; its latest move is expected to be published on Tuesday. The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee is expected to increase the UK base rate over 4.5 percent; markets are betting that rates will peak near 5.75% this year.

And Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s recent economic policy shift will face his first test as the new central bank governor Hafize Gaye Erkan presides over his debut policy meeting. Business executives and analysts to expect Turkey’s main interest rate will rise sharply to 17%, from 8.5%.

Investors will be waiting for indications on the future path of US rates, Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell testified to the Senate Banking Committee.

Other events this week include the Paris Air Show, which returns after a four-year hiatus. Delegates from G7 nations and international financial institutions will meet in London for a conference to discuss the reconstruction of Ukraine. In the UK, MPs are meeting on Monday to ratify a damning parliamentary report on Boris Johnson, the former prime minister.

The week closes with Greeks going to the polls for the second time in just over a month, after Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ New Democracy party he failed to secure an outright majority at the last ballot.

Write me at jonathan.moules@ft.com.

Economic data

There will be a chance to compare G7 nations at the end of the week with the release of flash Manufacturing and Services Purchasing Managers Indices, plus some confidence surveys, some housing market indicators for the US and UK, and monthly data on inflation from Japan and Germany.

Companies

Has someone at Activision Blizzard considered producing a computer game based on the battle between lawyers in court? They certainly have the stuff given the regulatory challenges it’s fusing with Microsoft they collided. The contest will take it to the next level this week when a California District Court will hold a “evidentiary hearingon the Federal Trade Commission plans to block the transaction.

It’s a thin gruel as far as earnings go, but Accenture could be interesting given the travails of the consultancy sector. Also, British Asset Manager Lion Trust it should post higher annual profits, driven by strong fee income and outflows. Further details below.

Business and economic reports

Here’s a more comprehensive list of what to expect in terms of business reports and economic data this week.

Monday

• UK, Rightmove June House Price Index

• United States, federal holiday of June 19th. Financial markets closed.

Tuesday

• China, official rate of mainland China

• The IMD World Competitiveness Center launches its annual global ranking of countries’ competitiveness.

• European Central Bank board member Philip Lane talks about “The dynamics of the financial system in the Eurozone” at the Bernacer Award ceremony in Madrid.

• The world’s largest producers of lithium for electric vehicle batteries hold their largest annual rally at the Fastmarkets Supply of Lithium and Battery Raw Materials conference in Las Vegas.

• Germany, data on the inflation rate of the producer price index (PPI) for May

• UK, data on Kantar’s grocery market share

• Usa, housing and building permits start in May

• Results: Fedex Q4

Wednesday

• Case handling hearing in class action brought by UK consumer champion Liz Coll v Alphabet and its subsidiary Google. Coll, who represents 19.5 million Android phone users, says the 30% surcharge added to products purchased through the Google Play Store is a breach of UK and European competition laws and is seeking damages of almost £1bn.

• Numis general meeting of shareholders to vote on Deutsche Bank’s proposed acquisition of the company.

• Novo Nordisk managing director Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen e BayerPharma sector chief Stefan Oelrich will speak at an industry event in Brussels hosted by major pharmaceutical lobby group EFPIA.

• Canadian retail sales data

• Germany, Ifo economic forecasts

• South Africa, Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rate data for May

• UK, May CPI, Retail Price Index (RPI), PPI and Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) inflation rate data. Also, data on public sector finances for May.

• Results: Berkeley Group Best regards, Liontrust Asset Management FY

Thursday

• US District Court in San Francisco begins hearing evidence in Federal Trade Commission lawsuit seeking injunction Microsoft AND Activision Blizzard fusion

• US Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell testifies to the US Senate Banking Committee

• Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos visits Seoul to talk about streaming media company’s $2.5 billion investment in South Korean entertainment

• EU flash consumer confidence indicator for June

• Türkiye, one-week repo rate decision

• United Kingdom, rate decision by the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee

• Results: Accenture D3, DS Smith Best regards, Mulberry Best regards, Fast rental Best regards, Whitbread Trade Update Q1

Friday

• EU, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, US: S&P Global/Cips flash services and manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) data

• Germany, Ifo business climate survey

• Japan, May CPI inflation data

• UK, June GfK consumer confidence report and May retail sales data

• Results: AutoMax Q1, You come naked Best regards, Zephyr energy FY

World events

Finally, here’s a roundup of other events and milestones from this week.

Monday

• France, the 54th Paris International Air Show kicks off, until Sunday

• Germany, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg begins a two-day visit with a meeting in Berlin with Chancellor Olaf Scholz

• Usa, President Joe Biden speaks at a fundraising campaign in California

• Republican presidential candidate and Florida governor Ron DeSantis to visit the same state today for his fundraising campaign

• UK MPs vote on approving a privileges committee report concluding former prime minister Boris Johnson misled parliament about rule-breaking parties in his office during Covid lockdowns

Tuesday

• 60th anniversary of the agreement to create the Kremlin-White House direct line to prevent a nuclear war from starting accidentally

• Chinese Premier Li Qiang and various members of his cabinet arrive in Berlin for bilateral government consultationsthe first face-to-face summit between the two countries since 2018. The delegation will then travel to Paris for an official visit and to attend a financial conference on Thursday

• UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt answers questions from Treasury Select Committee MPs in the House of Commons

• United Kingdom, the Royal Ascot horse race meeting begins

Wednesday

• Summer solstice, marking the longest day of the year and the first day of summer in the Northern Hemisphere

• United Kingdom, London hosts a two-day conference on the recovery of Ukraine

Thursday

• Qatar, municipal elections

• UK, Chief Medical Officer for England Chris Whitty and Britain’s former Chief Science Adviser Patrick Vallance testify about UK’s Covid-19 investigation

• In the UK, the Women’s Ashes cricket series begins with a test match at Nottingham’s Trent Bridge Ground

• Usa, President Joe Biden hosts Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for an official state visit to Washington

Friday

Saturday

• Sierra Leone, presidential and parliamentary elections

• UK Scottish National Party convention in Dundee to discuss holding second legally binding independence referendum

Sunday